Candles And Rainbows
by suzukipot
Summary: All Candle Light wanted to do was pass her flight exam.
1. Fight Or Flight

**Author's Note: This fanfic is a sequel to the** **infamous story "Rainbow Factory." **

The clopping of heavy hooves could be heard for miles as Candle Light ran down the street. She didn't want to risk flying as she could sprain a wing because injuring her wings on a day like today would just spell trouble. Then again being late wasn't good either. Her friend, Candy, was trailing far behind. Candle Light ignored her heavy breathing though and ran. When she finally did get to the coliseum she smiled and walked inside the waiting room.

Candy caught up a few minutes later. "Thanks...for...waiting,"She said,glaring at Candle.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

Candy stared at her for a few minutes then sighed and sat down. She brushed her frazzled mane out of her face and rubbed her hooves together nervously.

Candle Light gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey don't worry you're gonna do good on the test."

Candy looked up at her. "You sure?"

Candle Light nodded confidently. Candy looked around the coliseum. It was massive and it made her feel so small. Even if she was considered one of the best fliers in her class nothing guaranteed success.

It was then that a large necked, very muscled Pegasus approached the waiting students. "Places everypony," he said in a gruff voice. "We're going to call you out by name. Make sure that before you get up there your wings are stretched out so that you're good to go."

Everyone nodded and gave their last stretches.

"Also, the judges will be on the east side of the field so do not," he emphasized the last two words " go out to the west. If the judges can't see you then you will be failed. You will go through three tests: weather clearing, agility and recovery. Clear the clouds, fly through the hoops and then go to the marked point in the air, close your wings for about three seconds and recover before you hit the cloud floor.

Understood?"

"Yes sir," the class said in unison.

"Good. Follow me to the starting ramp." They followed the instructor.

" Good luck," Candle Light said to Candy,whose knees were shaking badly.

"T-thanks."

"Calm down," Candle said, placing a hoof on Candy's shoulder. "You're not gonna fail. You're gonna pass. When you do we'll finally get to see all of Ponyville."

"And if I don't?"

"No talking," the instructor yelled.

Candle Light turned around and prepared herself for her turn,which was quickly coming up. She put on a pair of goggles and tied her mane into a loose ponytail. She noticed that when the judges approved they gave a small nod to each other and when they didn't they just stood there, and said nothing. It seemed a bit grim.

"Candle Light!"

Candle Light almost jumped at her name but walked up to the ramp and waited for the starting signal. When she got it she immediately took off. The clouds soared closer and closer and even with goggles her eyes still burnt a bit from the air. She dashed straight through the clouds. Quickly turning she flew back around and looked for the hoops.

She squinted but didn't see them. Was she going the wrong way? Should she stop? She looked to the left until...

There was a splitting pain in her head. She'd hit the pole on one of the hoops. Her wings stalled and she fell until she landed on a cloud with a dull thump. There were many gasps from the students as they stared at Candle Light.

The judges said nothing.

"Candy Cheerholder," the instructor yelled.

Candy,who'd been concerned about her friend,looked up at the instructor. "Oh...right." Taking out her earings Candy readied herself and waited for the signal. When she got it she took off with a moderate speed. She got through the cloud and the hoops but when she flew high and waited...

There was too much air for Candy's wings to even fly. She tried to make them work but no matter how hard she tried to fly she fell uselessly on a cloud. She stood up,completely undamaged, but the judges said nothing and went on to the next student. Tears welled in Candy's eyes as she slowly walked towards Candle Light.

"C-Candle..." She nudged Candle Light with her hoof.

Candle's eyes were only barely open. She shakily stood. Candy noticed she had a large bruise on the right side of her forehead.

"Candle...y-you're face..."

Candle Light nodded. "I know," she whispered. She and Candy started walking towards the west gate. When they got there they patiently waited until the others were done testing.

"What happens to ponies who fail?"

"I don't know. My mom always told me that those ponies were disgraces. She said that they were exiled to a place even worse than the Everfree Forest itself."

"Oh my..."

Candle Light felt numb. The reality of what was happening hadn't really sunk in yet. She was being sent away. She would never get to see Equestria or control the weather and chances were she wasn't going to get her cutie mark. It felt...bad. Really, really bad.

When everything was said and done only one other Pegasus joined them. She was a tall, light blue Peagasus with white-blonde hair. She said nothing. All three of them stood up as they walked down the hall. There was cariagge where two Pegasus ponies stood,looking bored.

The one on the left nudged the one on the right with his elbow. " Hey lookit. We got some rejects."

The one on the right smiled slyly. " These three the only ones? That's a damn shame. Oh well. Get in the cart."

They did so. Candy looked up at the two stallions. "My friend," she said in a small voice. "She's hurt pretty bad..."

The one's head jerked back at the three while he glared at Candle Light. " Nothing but a bruise," he spat.

At this point part of Candle Light's eye was swelled. When Candy was about to say something again Candle Light hushed her.

"No use in telling them anything." She shook her head and looked at the blue filly. " You look...familiar. Do I know you?"

She had a quiet voice. " My name is Spindle. I'm in your class...of course but I was out for a week with the Pony Pox."

"Oh I remember you now," Candle Light said with a gentle smile.

There was a rough bump as the carriage lifted into the air.

The only thought running through Candy's head was '_ Where are we going?' _Of course there was no telling. Maybe if she asked...

"E-Excuse me?"

"What?"

"Where exactly are we heading?"

" You'll see. It's where all the rejects go. It's too bad they only got three of you though.I'm sure there were ponies the judges were lenient with." He shook his head. " It makes me sick knowing there are ponies like that that came from Cloudsdale."

"Reprobates the lotta ya," the other stallion chuckled.

Candy felt a swell of pride. She wasn't about to take these insults laying down. " Hey that's a bit harsh-"

" That's not harsh at all! You worthless little..." he was so angry that he was at a loss of words.

Candy shrunk back down in the seat. She was quiet for the rest of the ride. She didn't want to cause anymore trouble. When they finally landed the stallion on the left spoke again.

"Your stop." He opened the door and shoved the three out of their seats. He got back in the carriage and left as quickly as he came. The three fillies were at the entrance of a cloud building. Compared to the sun setting just outside the inside of the building was very bright.

However some of the ponies in there were wearing dark masks and suits. Some were running around holding clipboards. This was all accompanied with loud machinery.

" This place...it looks so...familiar. I can't place my hoof on it-"

"The weather factory," Spindle gasped.

Candle Light looked at Candy and Spindle. "But...we drove for such a long time..."

"I don't know," Candy shrugged. " To me it only seemed like half an hour. Maybe a full one at that."

They looked back up at the others. There was a small group of Pegasi huddled in the corner. Suddenly some one spoke.

" Welcome mules." The three looked up to see a bright red Pegasus in a white lab coat speak at the group. " You squeamish little runts are probably wondering why you're here. Or perhaps where you are. Stupid ponies.

You're in Cloudsdale of course! More precisely however you're in the Rainbow Facility. Which is, of course, in the weather factory."

"I knew it," Candy muttered.

"My name is Dr. Atmosphere. I'm a Forecolt not a surgeon mind you. Now...can any of you degenerates tell me anything about the weather factory?"

Spindle rose her hoof and spoke. " Well...the Spectra being mixed was always what we saw on the tour first."

"Ah, speaking of Spectra...does anypony know where it comes from?"

No one spook. Atmosphere gave a cruel smile. "Good because today you're going to learn. Come along now."

The group was still obviously very confused about why they were here. The best they could come up with was that they were going to be forced to work here,possibly for the rest of their lives and,while it wasn't exactly ideal, Candle Light could deal with it. Candy seemed to be depressed about it and Spindle had tears in her eyes.

"Don't fall into any of the vents," he said in a bored tone, like he had to explain this on a daily routine.

Now that Candle Light looked around the room seemed to get darker the more they walked. There were a couple of loose floorboards,vents and the occasional electrical wire but nothing to dangerous. The further back they went the cooler it seemed to get.

"Now let me tell you a story," he said in a sweet, sappy tone that made Candle Light think there was a grin on his face. "Cloudsdale is where,of course, the weather comes from. Equestria needs us for rain,heat, snow,all of it. This gives the weather factory quite a special honor. Cloudsdale itself is a very honorable place.

That's why we don't need impure little scum suckers like yourselves flying about." His tone went to being very angered but quickly turned back into a cheery one. "You see we actually have a plan for all of you. It's probably too complex for your inferior little minds so I'll explain slowly.

One day, over a thousand years ago some very smart ponies," Atmospher started opening a very heavy door. When he was done he held it open for the group. They walked inside and stared at Atomsphere,who didn't go inside. "Decided to do this," and with that he closed the door.


	2. A Big Shot In Cloudsdale

Candle Light stood there for a moment, just looking at the door Dr. Atmosphere had closed. Then she looked around. The room was large and had a high ceiling. One of the first things that caught Candle Light's eyes was a weird looking machine. When she strained her eyes in the dark enviroment she could see various chains, wires and a length of scaffolding.

"The rest of the group is from Fillydelphia," Spindle informed quietly. "I can tell by their uniforms." She looked at the small group of Pegasi who were talking quietly amongst themselves.

"I can't believe it," Candy said in a tone that sounded like she was disgusted. "We end up here, working for the rest of our lives and all because of what? Because we failed..." she hung her head in shame and humiliation.

Candle Light said nothing and looked around the room once again curiously. Her eyes were drawn to the Spectra she could see on the scaffolding. It was indescribable, how the Spectra looked. Giving a quick glance at her friends she cautiously flew up to get a closer look. As soon as her hooves landed on the scaffolding two masked Pegasi pushed her off.

Candle Light didn't have enough time to react and fell ten feet from the scaffolding. Everyone looked at her with bated breath as she landed on the concrete floor with an audible 'crack'. The pain of falling hurt. She shut her eyes tight as tears started to form but they eventually spilled over her cheeks.

Candy and Spindle rushed over to help her.

"My rib," she stammered. "I- It broke." She moved her hoof away to show her semi-protruding rib.

Candy put a wing around Candle and tried to calm her down. "Shh, shh. Just try not to move." They walked back to their spot. Every other pony looked at them until one of the masked Pegasi spoke.

"Eyes front rejects!"

Everyone, including Spindle, Candy and Candle Light looked forwards as a tall Pegasi spoke.

"Welcome to The Factory," he said in a tone that demanded authority. " You, hopefully, have guessed that by now that there was never a deportation. You will spend what short time you have living in The Factory. You will never leave The Factory.

Get used to your surroundings. They're all you'll ever see."

What little morale that was in the group quickly diminished.

"While you may be horrible fliers you actually do have something going for you. All of you do..." He scooped up the Spectra that was on the scaffolding into his hoof and blew it out to the crowd. "You get to help us create rainbows. Beautiful...spectacular rainbows." He gave a sly smile.

"What? Nopony is excited about this?" This was met with hateful glares. "Well then I suppose we'll just have to encourage you to volunteer." He looked out into the crowd.

It was then that another mask wearing pony walked into their presence. "I'm ashamed with all of you." She was clearly female and Candle Light noticed something...familiar about her. She had red eyes.

But it wasn't just that. They were a _brilliant _red color. Like part of a rainbow... She took off the mask and shook her mane out. It _was_ a rainbow. And her skin was a light blue.

Several Pegasi in the group gasped as they realized that...it was Rainbow Dash. Everyone knew who Rainbow Dash was. She had made news when she not only preformed a sonic rainboom several times but joined the Wonderbolts. It made Candle Light wonder why someone she and her friends looked up to was here. She looked out at the crowd with cold unwavering eyes.

"Live ponies are the perfect use of Spectra," she explained. "Everything has Spectra of course but ponies..." a sick smile slowly crept up on her face and turned into a large cheek to cheek grin. "Magic runs perfectly through a pony. Don't you all see?

We take failures that Cloudsdale couldn't be bothered with and we turn them into rainbows!" Rainbow Dash gave a maniacal laugh.

The realization hit Candle Light like a ton of bricks. They weren't going to be working here. They were going to be...Candle Light felt numb. She turned towards Candy and Spindle. "She's...I..."

Words failed her.

"You! The grey pegasus in the back! What're you murmuring about?"

All heads turned to Candle Light.

"She's just hurt," Spindle said, gathering her courage to speak.

"Hurt? Oh she doesn't know even know the definition of hurt...guards! Take the tall one! I'll show this pathetic bottom feeder what its like to lose someone!"

As fast as lightning two guards grabbed Spindle by her front hooves and, with a struggle from her part, took her to the top of the scaffolding and towards the machine.

"No," Candle Light yelled, attempting to run after Spindle. The pain in her rib made her double over.

As the machine started up and various chains moved towards the three. Spindle looked back at Candle Light and Candy. "I...I just want you two to know.."

The guards were strapping Spindle into very tight shackles.

"I'll miss you. Goodbye."

Candle Light managed to whisper a very faint goodbye.

The chains, and Spindle, were lifted into the air and went in opposite directions.

"Now for this first part," Rainbow Dash explained in a voice that hinted at joy. " We stretch our victim out so that the joints disconnect. It makes it easier for step two."

Spindle was screaming with pain as she heard her joints give various 'pops'.

"Now," Rainbow Dash continued nonchalantly. "We twist the victim so that we crush every single bone. This will often take about ten to fifteen minutes especially when we have to crush the femur."

With a quick, sharp turn the shackles twisted. Spindle screamed her lungs out. She eventually couldn't scream because her voice gave out. Bones crunched all at once.

Spindle's ribs cracked, her arms broke, and her pelvis shattered.

"Then...when the bones are crushed we pull the final plug."

A large butchers knife emerged from the chains. With precision and accurate aim it took Spindle's head off in one clean swoop. It landed at Rainbow Dash's feet. She looked at it then kicked the body part away. Spindle was dropped into the machine and after a minute or so hoses on the other end of the room started churning bright colors.

Candle Light could barely stand. She felt so sickened at the sight. "Candy...hold me..." she fell backwards and Candy caught her with her wing.

**Author's Note: If you couldn't tell this story is set in the future. It takes place about five years after the intial story, in which during the time between Rainbow Dash can pretty much get away with anything and has bcome a Wonderbolt. In other words, she has everyone under her thumb. Anyone who opposes her is killed.**


	3. Doing Your Job

A sharp kick to the side woke Candle Light up. Candy was clutching her, trying to hold onto any rash thinking she still had left.

"They're coming," Candy said frantically as two suited ponies started walking towards them with tazers. "W-what do we do Candle?"

Candle Light, being a calm thinker, looked around the room. The only door that looked at least like it had a possibility at escape was the one on the scaffolding.

"I have an idea," she muttered, slowly trying to stand. "We're gonna fly."

"Fly? Just us? What about the others?"

Candle Light scowled. "Forget the others. It's everypony for themselves." Candle Light spread her ruffled wings.

"On the count of three. One."

Candy didn't want to argue and instead gave a sad look at the cowering group. "Two."

"Three!"

Like bullets Candle Light and Candy took off.

The guards looked confused for a moment but then took off after the fillies. Quickly Candle and Candy landed on the scaffolding. Candle Light pushed on the door but it didn't budge.

"It's locked!"

Candle Light looked around and saw Rainbow Dash right on the other side of the machine.

"Push!" Candle Light struck the door with all of her bodyweight.

Over and over again Candle and Candy hit the door with the sides of their bodies.

"It's opening!"

"Guards! Those two! Kill them," Rainbow Dash cried, pointing at Candle and Candy.

The masked ponies were dealing with the group, who'd broken into a panicked frenzy. Rainbow Dash growled angrily then came at the two herself. Candle Light's ribs ached with pain but she kept slamming into the door.

"Gah!" Candle Light looked back to see Rainbow Dash grabbing Candy's neck and dragging her towards the machine.

"Candy!" Ignoring the door Candle Light ran after Dash and Candy.

"Too late scumbag!" Rainbow Dash held the limp Candy up and hooked her up to the chains. Candy did nothing. She was unconscious.

With a grin on her face Dash pulled a lever and the process started again. Except this time there was no screaming.

Candle Light could only look on in horror and momentarily forgot about the murderer not five feet away from her. Some blood squirted on Dash's face. Candle's legs gave out and she dropped to her knees. She couldn't believe it...her childhood friend had just died in front of her eyes.

"Now..." Dash turned around to face Candle.

"...Do it."

Rainbow Dash looked a little taken aback and stared at Candle with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"You took my friends away...do it. Kill me."

The longer Dash looked at the sniveling little filly on the floor the more she thought of Scootaloo. Oh...Scootaloo... No! This was no time to think of that...reject. She'd gotten rid of her around five years ago.

_You have beautiful eyes._

Rainbow Dash could feel small tears well up in her eyes. She'd killed Scootaloo, the person she'd treated as a little sister. But...she was just doing her job. She made two steps towards Candle, who did nothing but mutter a few words, almost like she was praying.

Dash felt herself grew angry and lifted a shaking hoof. She brought it down on Candle's neck. Years of exercise made her muscles strong and breaking a vertebrae was easy. Multiple times Dash brought her hoof down on the filly, breaking every bone in Candle's neck.

"You...little...ingrate," Rainbow shreiked with every stomp. "I trained you! You were my pupil! I had the highest expectations for you and you failed me!"

She could see herself smashing Scootaloo for her failures, killing the little orange pony like she'd done so long ago. When Dash was finally done she breathed heavily. Everyone and everything was silent. The blood dried on Dash's face before she turned away.

"Put the body in the machine!"

The guards rushed to it and put the lifeless body in the machine.

"Deal with the rest of them. I need to clean up." Rainbow Dash walked out of the room. She walked towards the restroom and wiped off her face.

_I thought...you loved me._

The words were crystal clear in her ear. They were pained, anguished and a little confused. Dash stopped washing her face and just stood there, washcloth in hand. She said nothing to the voice in head, there was no reason to.

She finished and made her way back to the room. She had work to do.


End file.
